Kingdom of God

Religiosity

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , , ,

When one reviews the pages of the Bible focusing on relationships, it seems the people who God had the greatest animosity against are “religious people.” From the Old Testament patriarchs to the New Testament saints, people who seemed to get God’s emotions to tilt are religious people preventing others from having an authentic, meaningful relationship with Him.

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Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees is a prime example. “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.” [Matt. 23:13 ESV] Jesus explodes with a verbal assault aimed directly at the Pharisees. They had become so self-righteous that they maintained a form of religion, but lack the power and love of God with it. They blinded themselves with a humanistic show of piety but the heart didn’t know God. They acted the part in form, but lacked the internal substance of genuine love. Whereas King David was a man after God’s own heart [Acts 13:22], the Pharisees were men after their idol’s heart.

The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 16:18 “For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” Throughout Paul’s ministry the struggle was with people who were deceived into believing an idol rather than the true God. For whatever one set’s their heart after that is not our Triune God is pursuing what the Bible defines as an idol; and idols have their followers and supporters.

Religiosity is simply the idol of mystical performance that looks sacred from the outside-in, but lacks the Spirit-filled heart that knows God and walks with God from the inside-out. Religiosity is the friend of humanism. It is designed to make man feel good, look good, and for a moment experience good. But the end result is another deceptive lie.

Jesus spoke about having a deep, meaningful relationship with Him. He didn’t act religious because God’s way involves being adopted into a family, a community, and a government built from the center of God’s heart, It is about everyday life; not a one-hour religious experience. It is expressing the love of God with your family members, work associates, and neighbors. The unity is not found in a bunch of do’s and don’ts [Col. 2:20], but in the Spirit of God within each person.

At the end of the day, one finds having a relationship with Jesus Christ is an adventurous journey through life with all the excitement of a Hollywood blockbuster movie. The difference though is you are not a spectator but a active participant in the plot and storyline. He assigns you a role that you were specifically designed to live and equips you for its fulfillment. It’s about everyday life: eating, sleeping, working, playing, dancing, singing, writing, loving and yes leading and serving others. When one discovers and experiences it, one quickly understands why Jesus became angry with the religious people of His day. You may want to take a hard look at oneself and ask in prayer: what religious games can I stop playing so we may draw closer to the living God?

OUR PRAYER

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Our Holy Father – Holy Lord – Holy Spirit: thank you for your honest feedback and merciful grace that strips us from our prideful acts of religious superiority. Thank you for making your home in us and patiently opening our eyes to see and ears to hear your wonderful life. Thank you for sharing your creation and your purpose and your plans with us.

Help us always to be authentic, honest, and generous to the people we meet. Help us to desist and you to exhibit your great power and love in us and through us. Let us not become a stumbling block for anyone but help us to lead and serve others in love with you. If they don’t know you, help us to gently and persuasively point them to you. Let your Spirit glow in the lives of your church.

Let everything we say, think, and do be done so in the love of Christ for the glory of Christ by the power of Christ.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager
Author of Great Business Emulates A Good God

If You Are Seeking a Devotional Study, Check Out My New Book Be Radical…Follow Christ.

Happy Birthday!

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , , , , , , , ,

When the day of your birth rolls around another year, how do you celebrate it? Do you throw yourself a party? Do you invite a few friends over for dinner? Or are you fortunate to have friends or family members that throw a party on your behalf? However you celebrate your birthday, you may want to consider this: you didn’t give birth, but your mother did. So on your next birthday, why not take an intentional moment and celebrate your birth with the person who gave birth – your mother. In other words, technically it is not your birthday, but your Mother’s.
The other person you want to thank and celebrate the day with is the Author of life, the Triune God. Without Him, you and I would not be here today. In fact, He gives us life, breath, and purpose. We are not accidents, but planned living souls designed for His pleasure for all eternity. It all begins on the day your Mother gave birth and continues with His divine intervention on a daily basis.
So when your day comes, stop, thank your Mother, and celebrate your adventurous journey rooted in Jesus Christ with the Author of Life. What other way is better than this to celebrate and rejoice on your Birthday?

OUR PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, Lord, and Spirit: thank you for sharing your life with us. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience life. Thank you for your intervention into our life. Thank you for just knowing you.
Help us to celebrate this life with you; to rejoice with you; and to offer this life for your service. We pray for our Mothers; shower them with your Almighty love and grace. Bless them for their sacrifice and nurturing intentions in raising us and giving us the opportunities we now have. Though they are not perfect and didn’t raise us perfectly, they did the best they could under the circumstances of their life. Simply bless them and let us celebrate you and them throughout this day. Amen

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager
Author of Great Business Emulates A Good God

If You Are Seeking a Devotional Study, Check Out My New Book Be Radical…Follow Christ.

Sin: Problem or Symptom?

Dr. Mike Kingdom Paradigms , , , , , , ,

As an independent consultant, I am called upon to help solve problems. Sometimes the problem is easy to identify and a solution quickly implemented. Other times, the problem is cloudy by all the smoke. Most of the time people focus on the symptoms of the problem rather than the actual cause.

For example, if you are having a cash flow problem, is that the actual problem or the symptom of something deeper; like not having a job. Many of us will focus on the symptom – no money, rather than on the actual problem – no job. Isn’t sin like that?
In our early walk with the Lord, we want to eliminate sin from our life. So we adhere to the Ten Commandments, read our Bibles to find out all the do’s and don’ts, and then find ourselves frustrated when the results are negligible. It has taken many of us multiple years to learn that sin is not the problem, but the symptom. The real problem is an absence of an intimate relationship with the Living God. Isn’t sin simply the absence of God’s influence in our life. By influence, we mean a strong desire to walk intimately with Him where His divine character expresses itself in us and through us because He lives in us. We gladly yield our self for Him to express Himself through us.
C.S. Lewis once wrote that we don’t learn to be Christ-followers; we catch it. Like a good virus it impregnates us and grows in us. The more we hang out and come to know God, not know about God, the more we enjoy Him and learn from Him. We surrender ourselves and follow the King of Kings via the Holy Spirit that lives in us. It is not just about removing sin from our life, but more so, it’s about have a strong, intimate relationship with our King. When we live a Christ-centric life, our love, joy, and peace comes from Him. As He blesses us, we simply express the same blessing toward others.
Again, sin is not the problem, but only the symptom. A close, intimate relationship with the Living God where we are daily infatuated and memorized by His love and involvement in our life leads us away from sin’s darkness and into His wonderful light. So next time we find our self on the wrong side of sin’s darkness, ask yourself these questions. “Did I really submit to God’s heart on the matter or just followed my natural desire to please myself?” How deep and strong is my current relationship with the Triune God? Am I walking with God or am I trying to make God walk with me? And lastly, what are you going to do about it?

Our Prayer

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Holy Father – Holy Lord – Holy Spirit: Thank you for removing the eternal penalty of sin. And more so thank you for hiding us in Christ were your righteousness covers our humanity. More than anything else, help us to walk with you, to follow your story and narrative, to seek you diligently in every aspect of our life. Help us to love you with our whole heart, mind, body, and soul. Help us make you the center of our lives. Let everything we say, think, or do be done for your glory, your Kingdom, and your name. Remind us daily that you are alive in us; and also remind us to submit to your influence in our life. Help us see you each and every day wherever we go, in whatever we do, and with whomever we meet. We place our trust in you. Glorify your name through us and in us.

Yours In Christ,

Dr. Mike

Consultant, Coach, Encourager